Amanda Gorman, America’s first National Youth Poetry Laureate, spoke Tuesday out against what she called a “book ban” after the Florida school that limited access to the poem Gorman recited during President Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools relocated “The Hill We Climb to a middle school section after a parent lodged a formal opposition to the work. Documents obtained by the Florida Freedom to Read Project were shared with the media. First, the Miami Herald reported on the story.
Gorman wrote in a post on Facebook, which accompanied a page-long statement that her book was banned in an elementary school.
The district issued a statement in which it stated that no literature was banned or removed.
The school decided that “The Hill We Climb” is more suitable for middle schoolers and it has been placed in the middle-school section of the media centre. The book is still available at the media center,” said the statement.
The Freedom to Read Project obtained documents from the Bob Graham Education Center, Miami Lakes, which show that a parent for two students had filled out a form requesting removal of the five titles “from the entire environment.” This group of parents is dedicated to fighting book bans and other restrictions in public schools.
The Miami-Dade District said that after a review by a group of educators and other people connected with the school, “The Hill We Climb,” was moved to the section of the library for middle school students, formally known as the media center.
According to documents, the committee determined that at least two of the titles they reviewed should be moved to middle school shelves.
Raegan Miller, a member of the group, explained that the documents were obtained by the Freedom to Read Project after it filed a request for public records in February. They include both the parents’ challenge and the written conclusions of the review committee.
Miller criticized the school for its restriction, saying that children who are interested in learning on their own time and may not have the money to buy books should be encouraged.
She said, “This is not classroom instruction.” These are kids who want to know more.
The Miami Herald reported that issues with book access have increased in Florida schools libraries since Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed into law a number education-related laws, including the ” Do Not Say Gay” Bill. This bill prohibits K-3 teachings about gender identity or sexual orientation.
DeSantis’ office did not reply to a comment request.
Last week, Gorman’s publisher, Penguin Random House joined with the nonprofit organization PEN in to file a lawsuit challenging what the organization characterized “unconstitutional” book bans at the Escambia School District in Florida.
The Miami Herald reported that the Miami-Dade County parent who asked for the titles to be reconsidered was not in favor of “eliminating” or “censoring” the books and wanted her students to know “the truth” regarding Cuba.
NBC News left a voicemail asking for comment, but the parent didn’t respond.
According to documents, the objection paperwork for “Cuban Kids”, “Countries in News Cuba” and “Cuban Kids” mentions “indoctrination.”
The documents show that the parent in the “The ABCs of Black History” paperwork wrote “CRT” — an acronym for Critical Race Theory and “gender ideologies.”
According to documents, the title was intended for elementary-school reading. However, the committee suggested that it be moved to middle school shelves due to its vocabulary and subject matter.
The parent who filled out the form for “The Hill I Climb” wrote that the book was “not educative” and contained indirect “hate message”. The committee, however, found the book to have educational value. It was only moved when its vocabulary was determined to be valuable to middle school students.
Gorman stated in a Tweet that a ban was “any action taken to restrict or diminish access to a particular book.” ” The move of her book following a parent complaint “reduces the access elementary students would have had to my poetry,” Gorman said.
